Copper Plating a Hull

[tombader]

As a novice shipbuilder I am working on my first model, (Phantom, New York Pilot Boat).  The hull is now ready to be copper plated.  Included in the kit was copper tape 1/4" wide.  To be to scale, the plates need to be 1/8" wide X 1/4" long.  Am looking for ideas/suggestions on how to split the 1/4" tape in half to (2) 1/8" wide strips,  be it a jig, fixture, technique.  Any thought/suggestion is welcome.  Thanx

[rtropp]

could you just cut the 1/4" tape in 1/8" pieces and turn them sideways.

 

Richard

Edited March 17, 2015 by rtropp

[wallyinstittsville]

I did it this way, by cutting the tape lengthways. But check out the "Phantom by SteveM" thread in the Kit Build Logs. He has pictures of the jig he used to cut the 1/4" tape into 1/8" wide plates as Richard describes. That looks like a great technique, wish I'd known about it at the time!

 

But for what it's worth, here's a summary of the other method. Work with about 6" of copper tape at a time. I used my self-healing mat which had straight lines printed on it as a guide -- put a piece of double-sided tape down on the mat, aligned with one of the straight lines. Then, stick the copper tape, paper-side down, to the double-sided tape. So now essentially you have your tape stuck to your mat, copper side up. Mark each end of the copper strip at the 1/8" mark and use a straightedge to score it lengthwise, and then use the markings on the mat as a guide to score each plate at 1/4" length. You just need to score through the copper, leaving the paper backing intact. Gently peel each plate off the paper tape backing with the tip of a #11 blade as you need it.